Modric wishes Messi to win the World Cup 2022

"I hope Messi will be world champion on Sunday," Modric said after the match at Lusail Stadium. "Messi is the best player in history and deserves to win the World Cup. He played great throughout this tournament and continuously showed his greatness."

Modric and Messi first met when Croatia beat Argentina 3-2 in a friendly match at Jakob-Park in Basel, Switzerland on March 1, 2006. It was also Modric's first game for Croatia, and Messi scored his first for Argentina.

After 16 years, nine months and 12 days, Modric met Messi for the 27th time in the semi-finals of the 2022 World Cup, when both were still the best players on each team. The 37-year-old midfielder did not play too prominently and left the field in the 81st minute. And the 35-year-old superstar won the "man of the match" award with a goal and an assist in Argentina's 3-0 victory.

Coach Zlatko Dalic also admired Messi's performance. "Until Messi's opening goal on the 34th minute penalty spot, the game had no highlight," he said. "We kept the ball a lot but didn't create chances. Once we took the lead, Argentina played well with Messi's guidance. He proved himself to be still the best player in the world right now. I regret not being able to took Croatia to the final, but we still have a third place match and that's not bad."

On Lusail Stadium, there were more than 50,000 Argentine spectators present, while only more than 5,000 Croatian fans attended. The difference between the two teams in the stands is shown below. After Messi's opening goal, 22-year-old striker Julian Alvarez scored twice to secure Argentina's place in the final. When receiving the Player of the Match award, Messi recalled the 1-2 defeat in the opening match against Saudi Arabia. "Back then, I asked the audience to continue to trust us, and they did," he said.

Argentina showed a different face after the loss to Saudi Arabia, when they won the next five matches, the quarter-finals alone required a penalty shootout to overcome the Netherlands. Messi also impressed by winning the Best Player award in four of these six wins.

Argentina will meet France or Morocco in the 2022 World Cup final on the evening of December 18 at Lusail Stadium, while Croatia will compete for third place with the other team at Khalifa International Stadium a day earlier.